Board of the Pension Protection Fund Makes New $705,000 Investment in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,000 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $705,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FSLR. Leibman Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in First Solar by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Leibman Financial Services Inc. now owns 17,226 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,036,000 after acquiring an additional 2,269 shares during the last quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY increased its position in shares of First Solar by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 1,530 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of First Solar by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC now owns 34,879 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,147,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group lifted its position in shares of First Solar by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 27,491 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $4,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH grew its stake in First Solar by 94.1% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 3,300 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America cut their price objective on First Solar from $321.00 to $269.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on shares of First Solar from $320.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of First Solar from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of First Solar from $311.00 to $279.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.75.

First Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $185.35 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $191.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $19.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.49. First Solar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.88 and a 12 month high of $306.77.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). First Solar had a net margin of 32.41% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The business had revenue of $887.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. First Solar’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Solar Profile

First Solar, Inc, a solar technology company, provides photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions in the United States, France, Japan, Chile, and internationally. The company manufactures and sells PV solar modules with a thin film semiconductor technology that provides a lower-carbon alternative to conventional crystalline silicon PV solar modules.